thank you very much, michelle. let me bring in nbc news contributor charlayne hunter. joining us by phone, u.s. ambassador, patrick gasper. thanks for joining. i have to tell you i read an interview with you yesterday and comments you made and we wonder about our journey on this planet. here you were in the early 20s in a room alone with nelson mandela, a nervous young man and now here you are the ambassador of south africa. what did he mean to your life? >> well, tamron, thank you so much for having me on at this period of reflection. nelson mandela meant everything in my life. like many other young activists, he was our touchstone, north star and somebody whose moral example really stirred my sense of how ordinary people can do extraordinary things if they have valued sense of politics. i'll never forget the time i was able to spend with him both in new york and then in south africa, 23 years ago. and i'm going through everything i can as u.s. representatives to help carry forth that legacy. >> and you first met mr. mandela right after being released from jail. you w